Introducing Active Engagement: A new program for teaching cooking skills to individuals with IDD

Date: April 18, 2017 Time: 4:00 p.m. EST
Introducing Active Engagement: A new program for teaching cooking skills to individuals with IDD

Presented by Janice Goldschmidt, MS, RD, LDN

Content Overview:

This presentation will launch a book that will be published by AAIDD in June. The title is Active Engagement: Teaching Authentic Cooking Skills to Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Janice Goldschmidt, the author, will provide an overview of the book that draws on the evidence-based structure of the program as well as the philosophical foundation. A Registered Dietitian and experienced IDD practitioner, Ms. Goldschmidt has spent the last decade working with individuals with disabilities on the development of cooking skills as a form of nutritional intervention and as a way of teaching practical skills to promote independence and self-determination. The presentation will include a brief discussion of some of the epidemiological trends for the IDD population and how development of cooking capacity can help mitigate some of the health-related pathologies associated with the high rates of obesity. The conceptual framework for the program will be introduced, and the author will explain how the emphasis on choice and individualization make Active Engagement very different from traditional cooking programs for the IDD population. Introductory teaching activities using adaptive tools will be addressed, as well as important steps needed to adapt recipes for those with IDD. Food skills, activities that support cooking but that are not directly related, will also be introduced as another means of drawing individuals with IDD into the realm of food preparation.

It is anticipated that this introductory tour of Active Engagement will help caregivers, support staff, educators, and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines develop an understanding of how this new book can be incorporated into programs or activities. At the close of the presentation, the author will take questions and offer problem-solving suggestions in response to specific issues that participants have experienced.

This is an AAIDD webinar.

American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD)